HB 2287 — Juvenile Justice, Department of; confidentiality of records.

Bill Tracking - 2017 session > Legislation Virginia General AssemblyLIS HomeLIS HelpPrivacy StatementLive Help LIS Sorry,ClassicLoginSEARCH yourSITE queryQUICK couldLINKS not- be- completed.- - - - - - - - - - - - Log in LIS Home General Assembly Home - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Session Tracking:

PleaseBills reload/refresh& thisResolutions pageMembers toCommittees retryMeetings yourCalendars lastCommunications request.House Minutes Senate Minutes Statistics Lobbyist-in-a-Box Personal lists - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Search:

IfCode thisof conditionVirginia persists,Administrative pleaseCode emailBills us,& withResolutions theSummaries errorOTHER codesSESSIONS listed  below,- so- that- we- may- fix- - - - - - - - - Session Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Special Session II Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Special Session II Session Session Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Session Session Special Session I Session Special Session I Special Session II Session Session Special Session I Session Session Special Session I Special Session II Session Session Session Special Session I Session Session Session Special Session I Session Session Session Session Special Session I Special Session II VIRGINIA LAW PORTALCode of VirginiaVirginia Administrative Code Constitution of VirginiaChartersAuthoritiesCompacts Uncodified ActsRIS Users (account required) SEARCHABLE DATABASESBills & Resolutionssession legislationBill Summariessession summaries Reports to the problem.General AssemblyHouse and Senate documents Legislative LiaisonsState agency contactsACROSS SESSIONS Subject Index:

IfSince you1995Bills feel& youResolutions: need more immediate attention, please call our help desk at (804) 786-9631.

74.220.50.48Since 1994Summaries:

Since 1994 Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

SESSION history | hilite | pdf | print version CHAPTER 207 An Act to amend and reenact § 16.1-300 of the Code of Virginia, relating to confidentiality of Department of Juvenile Justice records;

community gang task forces.

[H 2287] Approved February 23, 2017   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.

That § 16.1-300 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 16.1-300.

Confidentiality of Department records.

A.

The social, medical, psychiatric and psychological reports and records of children who are or have been (i) before the court, (ii) under supervision, or (iii) receiving services from a court service unit or who are committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice shall be confidential and shall be open for inspection only to the following:

1.

The judge, prosecuting attorney, probation officers and professional staff assigned to serve a court having the child currently before it in any proceeding;

2.

Any public agency, child welfare agency, private organization, facility or person who is treating or providing services to the child pursuant to a contract with the Department or pursuant to the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act as set out in Article 12.1 (§ 16.1-309.2 et seq.);

3.

The child's parent, guardian, legal custodian or other person standing in loco parentis and the child's attorney;

4.

Any person who has reached the age of majority and requests access to his own records or reports;

5.

Any state agency providing funds to the Department of Juvenile Justice and required by the federal government to monitor or audit the effectiveness of programs for the benefit of juveniles which are financed in whole or in part by federal funds;

6.

Any other person, agency or institution, including any law-enforcement agency, school administration, or probation office by order of the court, having a legitimate interest in the case, the juvenile, or in the work of the court;

7.

Any person, agency, or institution, in any state, having a legitimate interest (i) when release of the confidential information is for the provision of treatment or rehabilitation services for the juvenile who is the subject of the information, (ii) when the requesting party has custody or is providing supervision for a juvenile and the release of the confidential information is in the interest of maintaining security in a secure facility, as defined by § 16.1-228 if the facility is located in Virginia, or as similarly defined by the law of the state in which such facility is located if it is not located in Virginia, or (iii) when release of the confidential information is for consideration of admission to any group home, residential facility, or postdispositional facility, and copies of the records in the custody of such home or facility shall be destroyed if the child is not admitted to the home or facility;

8.

Any attorney for the Commonwealth, any pretrial services officer, local community-based probation officer and adult probation and parole officer for the purpose of preparing pretrial investigation, including risk assessment instruments, presentence reports, including those provided in § 19.2-299, discretionary sentencing guidelines worksheets, including related risk assessment instruments, as directed by the court pursuant to subsection C of § 19.2-298.01 or any court-ordered post-sentence investigation report;

9.

Any person, agency, organization or institution outside the Department that, at the Department's request, is conducting research or evaluation on the work of the Department or any of its divisions;

or any state criminal justice agency that is conducting research, provided that the agency agrees that all information received shall be kept confidential, or released or published only in aggregate form;

10.

With the exception of medical, psychiatric, and psychological records and reports, any full-time or part-time employee of the Department of State Police or of a police department or sheriff's office that is a part of or administrated administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, and who is responsible for the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or motor vehicle laws of the Commonwealth, is entitled to any information related to a criminal street gang, including that a person is a member of a criminal street gang as defined in § 18.2-46.1.

Information shall be provided by the Department to law enforcement without their request to aid in initiating an investigation or assist in an ongoing investigation of a criminal street gang as defined in § 18.2-46.1.

This information may also be disclosed, at the Department's discretion, to a gang task force, provided that the membership (i) consists of only representatives of state or local government or (ii) includes a law-enforcement officer who is present at the time of the disclosure of the information.

The Department shall not release the identifying information of a juvenile not affiliated with or involved in a criminal street gang unless that information relates to a specific criminal act.

No person who obtains information pursuant to this subdivision shall divulge such information except in connection with gang-activity intervention and prevention, a criminal investigation regarding a criminal street gang as defined in § 18.2-46.1 that is authorized by the Attorney General or by the attorney for the Commonwealth, or in connection with a prosecution or proceeding in court;